Day 8 - 28 Feb
Up early to leave at 7 am - couldn’t have left any earlier - just becoming light at this time!
So we leave this small waterfront resort, family owned and operated. We certainly enjoyed our stay at Lochmara Lodge.
There was plenty to keep one entertained: walks, paddling, animal feeding. After dinner last night we looked at the eels and when darkness fell, we visited the glow worm grotto.
On the track this morning out from the lodge, we were met by a large llama - I thought I was back in Peru!
Certainly the owners have a quirky sense of humour:
Steady climbing all the way out to the main track (about an hour). Then we continued to climb quite steeply - the cricket-like noises of the cicadas and beautiful views of Lochmara Bay accompany us all the way.
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It is 2 hours to Te Mahia Saddle - we had planned to stop earlier at Onahau Lookout but reached the sign and found it was a 1.8 km ret. detour so decided to pass on that. Anyway, the views have been spectacular.
Through another QCTLC section today. We have paid $NZ25 each to access these. Funds are meant to assist the upkeep of the track which has been good but I suspect this is a somewhat relaxed collaboration with the DOC given the (Goat? Horse? nope! It is in fact cattle as we come across a farm with its boundary abutting the walkway) droppings along the way today … although it appears there IS a horse according to the sign at the end of the track!!
We stop at the 11km mark at a set of table and chairs - rest the weary legs and have morning tea of dry biscuits and fruit.
We have been following the coastline of the Onahau Bay for some time - and climbing.
We reach Grove Arm Lookout after just over 4 hours of walking. Sun fully out by now and it is quite warm in the exposed sections; thankfully we have been mainly in forest to this point. We now descend to the finish at Anakiwa.
Stopped for lunch when we finally descended to water level at Davies Bay - 3 kms to go!
Then one!
We arrive at Anakiwa by 2:30 pm - boat due at 4 pm so plenty of time. It could rain so we have scoped out a shelter ready to move if we have to but the sun came blasting out as it has mid-afternoon every day (apart from our damp first day). We have been so blessed with the weather!
The little Green Caravan Cafe near the jetty opened just as we arrived, so we got a coffee!!
19.23 kms, 467 m. So, we’ve made it - yay!
And then: as you do(!), the boat arrived an hour early, names were ticked off and we were on our way back to Picton. Imagine if you had casually walked into Anakiwa in an hour’s time to find everyone sitting in the boat waiting for you??!!
We picked up our luggage from the Cougar Lines office at Picton and walked around to the Apex car rental - by 4:00 pm (when we would have been catching the boat at Anakiwa) we were already on our way to Havelock for our next 2 nights. Road very damaged from a storm back in 2021 - lots of repairs still underway.
Our B&B is gorgeous. Dinner at the tavern down the road.
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